Residents, developer in conflict over project

Bid to build condo, extend road draws heat

TOM MANNING, Chronicle Correspondent

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, November 4, 2004

A battle is brewing in Woodland Heights between a developer who wants to build a 100-unit condominium building at the corner of a dead-end street and nearby residents who say that doing so would create numerous traffic and safety concerns.

A division of Canada-based developer Group LSR, innerLoop Condos has developed condominiums in River Oaks and Midtown. The group sees the Heights as a prime location for its next development.

"We started looking into the Heights two years ago, when our market study indicated to us that there was demand for entry-level condominium residence starting at $130,000," said Louis Conrad, vice president of development and marketing for innerLoop Condos. "We have 185 potential buyers who manifested initial interest to live on a condominium at this site."

The site is at the east end of 5th Street, which dead ends just after an intersection at Oxford. The city of Houston's Planning and Development Department has been in discussions with innerLoop Condos about building an extension of 5th Street that would make it the only entrance-exit road for the condominiums.

"Our case has nothing extraordinary. We were told the steps to go through if we want 5th Street to be extended," Conrad said. "We will submit a formal proposal to the city of Houston, which we believe will be answered to positively."

But neighborhood residents claim the street cannot support the anticipated increase in traffic, and that spilling the condominium vehicles onto East 5th Street and nearby small roads will create a safety hazard in the neighborhood.

They also said that in an area that saw major flooding during Tropical Storm Allison, building a road or a bridge on land that provides much-needed drainage is asking for disaster.

"I can't stress enough that we are not anti-development," said Taylor Moore, a Woodland Heights resident who lives at the corner of East 5th Street and Oxford. "These neighborhood streets just aren't equipped to handle this project.

No sidewalk

"The street has got no sidewalk, no drainage and it's a dead end. And all we've been told is, 'Don't worry about it, we'll take care of it.' That scares me."

Moore helped organize a group of about 40 Woodland Heights residents in October to talk about their concerns regarding the development. The focus was on the increased traffic and drainage.

"If they are to open up 5th Street, they would have to build a bridge," resident Carlos Ulloa said. "This would greatly impact the drainage in our part of the neighborhood as this is the link to White Oak Bayou. The area that they are proposing the building on is right next to a flood zone. Having a structure of that magnitude, plus the proposed garage structure, would increase our chances of flooding.

"It's the same principle as when you have a bucket of water at a certain level and you put a brick in it. What happens? The water level will increase."

"We will not block the water flow," he said. "We will probably build a bridge on top of the gully in order not to affect water flow and give access to our property. As for flooding issues, we are under the strict guidance of the Harris County Flood Control District and the city of Houston. We have to follow the new FEMA flood plain map.

"The structure we build cannot create any overflow of water. We have to do mitigation, a detention pond, for the structure that we build."

Ulloa and others also said the single access-egress way creates a major concern if a fire occurs at the condominiums.

"God forbid there is a fire in the new complex and there is only one way in and out. Does that sound like good planning?" he said.

innerLoop Condos signed a purchase contract in August for the Heights property and the company closed on 1.3-acres Oct. 19.

"On one side," Conrad said, "we have a large amount of potential clients who want us to build enough condominiums to satisfy the demand and also build a higher structure in order to come up with more residences and better views.

"On the other side, we have neighbors who made suggestions like buying this expensive land then turning it for free to neighbors so they can keep it as a park or, worse-case scenario, build single-family homes on large lots. Both suggestions make no economic sense."

Taking sides

Residents see the proposed extension of East 5th Street as another example of the city taking the side of development over community. Developments like the proposed condos, they say, ruin exactly what it is that makes the communities in which they pop up attractive to developers in the first place.

"(innerLoop) says the only viable option is to either build a bridge at the current dead end of 5th Street to access the new building, or, if a bridge isn't feasible, they will fill in the drainage swale and pave a street over to have access," Moore said.

"Personally, I have strong concerns about the dangerous limited access-egress situation of this extension of the dead end of 5th. I know the extension of the dead end was denied in the past, and I would like to keep it so."

Said Woodlands Heights resident Mary L. Bell, "(Planning and Development) is not serving the citizens of Houston, but rather seems to be functioning as a permit-granter to developers without any thought as to how those developments are going to affect existing neighborhoods.

"You can't simply add 200 cars in a small neighborhood with narrow streets and hope that it will somehow 'work out.' "

The company has met twice with residents to discuss their concerns. One meeting was organized by District H City Councilman Adrian Garcia.

Conrad said the company will continue to work with the community.

"We have returned every phone call of concerned neighbors," he said. "In some projects, we can limit the amount of residences in order to cause the smallest impact as possible to the neighborhood.

'A rather small structure'

"In the case of the Heights, we think we will be able to build a rather small structure, not a high-rise. We will also provide the neighbors with a traffic impact (study) from an independent engineering firm.

"We have to understand that when you live on a dead-end street like our neighbors at the Heights, with empty land at the end of it, you just wish the owner leaves it as a park so you can walk your dog on it," Conrad added.

"You wish no construction ever occurs and not even one car is added to the street. I don't blame the neighbors for asking us not to build anything on the land, everyone wants a quiet street for their home.

"On the other hand, imagine how much development would be stalled if every construction that adds up to street circulation in residential neighborhoods would be banned."